Why do I always find myself in this situation? A place where we are struggling to find that balance with our financials + our life+ wanting to keep our kids from suffering financially in our lives (i.e. missing field trips we can’t pay for, getting them new clothes when needed, etc.) it’s a constant battle to try and figure it all out – we have way more going out than coming in and 2/3 of what’s going out is just the Mortgage, Car Payment, Car Insurance, and the Utilities…I can’t stay ahead of them no matter how hard I try.

– Progress Energy – New Statement Shows Another $289.21 due by 06.01.15

– AT&T – No new Statement Rec’d yet, assuming it’s going to be another $130.00 due by 06.15.15

Then there’s the whole need you know, EAT, and our grocery bills run about $150 – $200/week depending on how much we need – and we eat fairly healthy so that means a lot of vegetables, fruit, nuts, cheeses, and the like and those are more expensive than the processed crap in the store (backwards I know) and then if there’s a week I’m in need of protein powder that’s another $40.00 for both of those (vanilla and chocolate – used for two separate things and bought maybe every other month, 2 x 2lb containers last a while)

We try to make use of my husband’s work coupon to save money on Dog food one week a month and we haven’t used it yet this month – so we’ll probably use it tonight to save some money there as we also need to get kitty food.

And Silver, our van, requires about $30 – $35/week in gas, which Thanks to our Costco membership I save a little money there each week! Whoop Whoop!

And my husband’s money changes week to week, but here lately he’s required all of his $25 + some…ugh…I so can’t wait until he’s back to grooming so he can get tips + his commissions – oh yeah I didn’t post about that – but about 6 weeks ago or so he was injured during his shift – a 60ish lb dog was flayling around and knocked into my husband’s rib cage – and ambulance was called because about 15 mins after that incident he started having chest pains that radiated up his arms, neck and into his back, so we thought it was a heart attack – after spending 6 hours in the ER it was determined that it was musculoskeletal and he was sent home to follow-up with his primary care Dr – the following Monday he went to see his Dr and it was determined he had broken some ribs and had some bruising to the muscle’s – back & forth with the employer for Worker’s Comp – put on leave and then light duty for 6+ weeks means he’s losing money – we’re back to just his paycheck which hasn’t been much especially when they take out his benefits…ugh…

I am grateful though that I have been able to work my full-time schedule and if I’ve had to be out of work I have leave to offset the hours – YAY!!! That’s been very helpful for sure.

And while my work for my author-employer has been steady it’s not income I rely on to help cover finances because the hours are up and down depending on her schedule…I mainly use that money as a means to fill a gap when we’re requiring it – like now Silver is due for an oil change, and I intend to use my next paycheck to cover that expense which I am estimating to be about $65 – $70 with the oil change, tired rotation, filter replacement, etc.

Ok back on track – so with the above we still have our normal monthly drafts:

– My Gym Membership $19.99/mos on the 17th

– My Personal Trainer, $50.00 on the 1st

– Hulu.com Subscription, $7.99 on the 21st

– State Farm Insurance, $272.00/mos on the 28th

– Music & Arts Center, $33.41 on the 18th (son’s Trumpet Rental)

– Vet’s Wellness Plan for Sadie, $32.95 on the 5th (this is with my hubby’s discount)

It’s no wonder we’re broke…ugh…I seriously need to invest some time into getting OT hours – I keep forgetting I too have benefits that draft from my check and need to make sure I work enough to offset those costs.

So that’s where we are – I am also running burnout at work – trying to save my leave so I can take some time off this summer and have some remaining for Christmas break as well…wish me luck!

And today after a large amount of begging the Fates and the Goddess I talk to for some help of some kind for money or some help somewhere I get in the mail (2) Checks from State Farm for the kids’ medical claims from our wreck in February! Each check was issued for $210.00/ea x 2 = $420.00 which is just about what we spent on getting the repairs done to Bessie.

I posted this to Facebook earlier:

“If you want to send out those good vibrations now is the time to do it, let’s list off the shit that’s gone WRONG in the last week:1. The Van Issues = $450.00 still not fixed2. Bed Bugs in Ashley’s bed = Her spending the night in my bed3. Bed Bugs in Austin’s bed = Him spending the night in my bed4. A possible disconnect notice from CFPUA I haven’t even opened yet – OK Small Correction – It was just the usual water bill, but it’s still $188! OUCH!
5. Now the finance company for the van is calling for their “past due” payment…they don’t like the $75.00 a week I am sending – my contract state $150.00/two weeks – um what’s the difference? $75/week or $150/bi-weekly, there’s no difference here nor there
6. My job is on the line because I am having to work at home for more than the originally planned timeframe – so worried my boss is going to call me and tell me that my time w/my company is done and then we’re really f*cked!
Anything else want to get lumped on my overloaded plate?!?! Seriously!!! Why now? Why when my Hubby is gone??? I am totally overwhelmed right now!”

And then to check the mail and find those there! Man it felt amazing to see that and to know Goddess was watching over us and handed us that money right when we needed it!

I shared this sentiment when I saw what was in the mail:

“Miracle of all Miracles – Just got two (2) Checks in the mail for the kids’ medical payments from the accident in February!!! Oh man we have funding now I just need to get it to the bank!”

Nope yeah not so much. Last week I received an email from Hertz with a bill for our rental car to the tune of $1,347.18. I uploaded it to State Farm’s claims website and waited. Nothing. Until I woke up Saturday morning and saw a HUGE negative balance on my account – thank Goddess for my daily balance email notifications – so I bounced over to the bank’s website and low and behold I see that Hertz had not only drafted that $1,347.18 but the transaction had caused (2) Overdraft fees in its wake.

Ugh so BEFORE I’ve even had my morning coffee I call the bank immediately and file a dispute. They immediately post a teller credit for the $1,347.18 and open a dispute for a credit from the overdraft fees. So now we’re back at our positive balance we had when I went to bed Friday night.

And then as soon as my agents office opens on Monday I am on the phone with them trying to figure out what happened…they transfer me to the claims people who are handling the rental and I get transferred again to the total loss team who connect with me to Hertz. Turns out the contract I initiated at the Airport the day after my wreck, that was supposed to be CANCELLED and VOIDED, never was and during an audit they found it and billed my account. Hertz took responsibility for it and credited the funds back to us. I just had to send them a copy of my statement showing the overdraft fees, which I did.

Came into work this morning and I see that BOTH credits are still on my account…so now what? Call the bank back and tell them what happened? Or do I hold onto both credit + the credit of the overdraft fees and call it a day. Keeping the 2nd credit for all the headache’s I’ve gotten trying to deal with the wreck itself, the insurance, and buying a new car. Sort of reimbursement for having to replace a vehicle I had NO INTENTION of replacing this year…

Questions…

Questions…

Questions…

What would you all do?

UPDATE: Called the bank & Cancelled the Dispute, They are Going to Debit the Credit they Gave me showing just the one Debit/Credit from Hertz.

I think my hubby’s post from tonight sum’s things up pretty well for where we’re at right now:

“Update: daughter went to the nurses office for concussion symptoms today. Wifey’s injury seems manageable as long as she has her muscle relaxers. A flood of lawyer propaganda has entered the hours like Hogwarts letters. The Police report is up and we can see that the other driver is claiming that my wife is at fault. we also see that she was charged with failure to yield and not having a valid drivers licence. the owner of the vehicle let the policy lapse on it. Kelley bluebook for our car is 2k and that might pay off Most of the loan. SF has not told us if the will total it out. Keep us in your prayers and thoughts …”

I should have posted this yesterday, but got very busy and didn’t…apologies…

So here’s where we’re at:

My Dad posted this yesterday:

“Update on our daughters car accident:She was driving her mother’s car. Mom had let the insurance lapse!The driver does not have a valid Driver’s License!State Farm is taking care of the rental car. Yea State Farm!!Lara has some whiplash pain. Ashley has a concussion. Austin is fine.”

Thanks to everyone for the thoughts, concerns and prayers!”

And in response I added to it:

“Adding to this – State Farm has also cut me a check to cover the cost of replacing the booster seats, should have that in hand in a few days; Car is being picked-up from the Tow Lot this Afternoon and taken to their secure facility for inspection – determination of repairs vs. total loss…being at work is more calming than dealing with all of this sh*t at home! I will also say State Farm is taking care of the price/billing dispute w/Hertz, so YAY on that!”

Last night Hertz called me and we’re switched the contracts over to the Focus off of the Tiquan and State Farm is handling the billing and payment – they are going to void the contract that the airport location put me on and put me on a new contract, the gentleman told me that all of this should be done today…so Thanks Hertz!

State Farm picked up the car from the tow lot yesterday and I am sure it’ll be looked at either today or tomorrow and we should have a solid decision from them by the end of either this week or beginning of next week…the waiting game doesn’t do well for me, I have little patience for waiting, so I am going to try and distract myself with work so I am not just sitting and waiting…that’s the plan.

I did also give a statement to the Medical Billing team and completed some paperwork for them for reimbursement for our injuries, was told we can get up to $1,000/ea for medical – doubt we’ll actually get that much, but hey anything will help cover the cost of paying off the car and possibly getting us into a new one – or even paying the deductible should that be the case.

I literally spent ALL AFTERNOON on the phone with my insurance, the other gals’ insurance company, Hertz and My Dr’s Office (something totally unrelated) – turns out that the chick who hit me (and yes she hit me) does not have active insurance um yeah WTF? Her Mother, who owns the car, let the policy lapse at the beginning of February – which means yes she gave false information to the police – probablyh unknowingly – and it now means that this falls under my “Uninsured Motorist” clause on my insurance. FIrst though because NC is so sticky about it they have to prove one of two things:

She really did let the policy lapse and is now 100% uninsured, or

She has new insurance with a different company and my Insurance Company (State Farm) needs to get that information to file my claim against

So once that is done SF will cover my rental 100% and lower my deductible to $100 should they decide to repair it…

The saga of the rental though – UGH this is what I put up on Facebook earlier today:

“OMFNG GAWD I am trying to switch the VW SUV Hertz gave me yesterday for a smaller compact care as advised by my insurance and I get transferred all over God’s Green Earth by Hertz! Seriously WTF Hertz?!? I’ve been using you guys for EONS and have never in my life had this much trouble! Oh and BTW that TWAT who hit me, yeah her Mom let her insurance policy lapse, State Farm in trying to determine if she is in fact uninsured or if she switched insurance companies – though it sounds like she’s uninsured…I have literally been on the phone since 11am!”

“I just want to cry right now that’s all I want to do – traded out the SUV for a Focus and the total is going to be $600+ for a 5-Day rental, WTF?!?!?!?”

– this was on my MyFitnessPal profile as a response to something one of my friends said

“SF has me covered with a provision on my insurance for uninsured motorists, I have filed a claim w/her insurance so SF will get a denial letter and everything will be covered…I have literally been on the phone for an hour at this point…Ashley has a minor concussion, I have whiplash, Austin is good, but this is turning into a major deal here”

“Got my muscle relaxer & pain pills tonight, won’t use the pain meds unless I absolutely need them…on another note it appears that Hertz extended the contract on the SUV (price and all) and gave me a Ford Focus and are charging me for the Tequan..My hubby will be following up with Hertz tomorrow to dispute the charge…so NOT having that, even if State Farm will be paying the bill eventually”

“Yeah a Focus is only $152 for a week…yeah idiot! Will be closing the contract on the Tequan and opening one on the Focus”

So I am filing against my SF policy and will let SF go after her and her mother for reimbursement…and as of right now I am not interested in pursuing this legally against her…that could change on a dime though..

It’s another week where it seems like all the funds come in and immediately go back out again – we have a lot of auto-drafts this week which have eaten into all of our funds to carry over into next week…don’t like this one bit…but we have to adapt and move forward. I’ve paid the 2nd part of the car payment and we’re two weeks ahead on that one, which makes me very happy, but at the same time we’re going to be behind again on the mortgage – sincerly hope Citi gets their sh*t together soon. The last email I got from them on Wednesday said it would be six (6) days until a final decision, which puts us at about Tuesday next week. Our counselor called us the next day and when Jimmy went to call him back “conveniently” he wasn’t available…so he asked for his manager and sat on hold for almost a half an hour until he had to leave for work, going to try calling again tomorrow…this is has been the most frustrating process. UGH! Seriously hoping we can hold onto things this go round and keep our payments on time…once this is done I swear we’re going car shopping so I can get out from under the car.

Speaking of, it’s decided more repairs are needed – now my brakes are squealing sometimes (yup roters – $$$) and they grind like metal on metal sometimes when I apply the brakes (roters again = $$$)…I sincerly don’t want to put funds into the car for repairs, we have the money I just really would prefer to get something that is slightly newer and doesn’t need any repairs almost immediately.

Ok onto the budget for the week…like I said lots of auto-drafts this week:

$87.24

Remaining from W/E 05/12/13

$ 501.19

Lara W/E 06/16/13 Salary

$80.00

Amt. Spent

$180.83

Jimmy W/E 06/16/13 Salary

$7.24

Avail. Starting

$682.02

$11.48

Wal-Mart

$7.24

Avail. Starting

$6.40

Hobby Lobby

$682.02

Total Pay

$5.32

Atlanta Bread

$689.26

Avail. For Bills

$10.19

Wal-Mart

$50.00

Deposit 6/16 for James’ Father’s Day

$8.11

PCJ

$739.26

$3.96

KTC

$20.00

Withdrawn for James

$5.98

McDonald’s

$719.26

$1.99

Amazon.com

$40.00

In From Merrill to Cover Short/Prevent OD

$20.00

NH Medical Group

$759.26

$6.57

Chick Fil-A

$80.00

We over did it last week that’s for sure…Father’s day was last Sunday and while Jimmy kept it simple we still spent a small amount on drinks/snacks while cruising Mayfaire, but then another trip to the Dr’s cost me another $20.00 – we have a Medical Savings account we could use to pay these co-pays and for prescriptions – I believe it’s time to check on that account balance and see how much we have available – might help offset some of the expenses we have coming. I have two appointments and a prescription to pick up – he has I am sure follow-up appointments to check his INR’s and more prescriptions, so yeah that’s on my ‘to do’ list.

Alright here we go:

$759.26

$25.00

DB Plumbing

$734.26

$80.00

Brigades Boys & Girls Club

$654.26

$5.00

OT Solutions

$649.26

$7.99

Hulu.com, 6/21 Auto-Draft

$641.27

$21.39

Blockbuster.com, 6/23 Aut-Draft

$619.88

$5.00

CCA, 6/24 Auto-Draft

$614.88

$64.47

State Farm

$550.41

$185.00

Credit Accept

$365.41

$170.00

Groceries

$195.41

$25.00

Cat & Dog Food

$170.41

$25.00

Jimmy’s Money

$145.41

$25.00

Dinner, 6/21

$120.41

$40.00

Gas

$80.41

$30.00

Jimmy’s Rem. Father’s Day$

$50.41

And with the lump sum cash withdrawal:

$759.26

$25.00

DB Plumbing

$734.26

$80.00

Brigades Boys & Girls Club

$654.26

$5.00

OT Solutions

$649.26

$7.99

Hulu.com, 6/21 Auto-Draft

$641.27

$21.39

Blockbuster.com, 6/23 Aut-Draft

$619.88

$5.00

CCA, 6/24 Auto-Draft

$614.88

$64.47

State Farm

$550.41

$185.00

Credit Acceptance

$365.41

$320.00

Cash for the Week

$45.41

I will say this we came in FAR under budget on both the groceries and gas, so those extra monies were used to purchase some misc. items we needed around the house and I took the kids to lunch at McDonald’s today (a rare treat let me tell you!)…